Grow your business with context and content

MAGIC MONEY!

Continuing from last blog about Robert Kiyosaki's book "Rich dad's retire young, retire rich"- another concept that has really got me thinking is the concept of expanding your concept. In other words- thinking bigger than you do currently, by thinking bigger and challenging yourself to leave your comfort zone, you can build greater wealth. This isn't overnight growth, but by thinking on a bigger scale you can get bigger results- with the right planning!

I'm pretty sure this concept is what took many of todays entrepreneurs from a cottage industry in the shed to a global player. Again, this concept needn't be confined to making more money, it applied to charities, movements and pressure groups. A larger context requires greater leverage, too.

Robert is very candid about his unsuccessful as well as his successful businesses, which is very important. I think many highly successful people today have failed many times before they succeeded- but, they know that failing is a great way to learn more and they continue until they succeed.

Robert also says that having an "exit plan" is vital- in other words, where do you want to end up? Many people, myself included, try a few things out here and there but don't have a plan where they want to be in, say, ten or twenty years time. Naturally, if you go for a long voyage without a map or destination, you can end up nowhere at all!

Robert's books have sound financial principles and lessons- my slant on wealth generation is to build a big enough passive income to allow me to do more of what I like and less that I don't. I want to do it with ecological principles where possible- this is no easy path to follow, but it is the path I choose.

Lessons in leveredge

MAGIC MONEY!

Hi again,

I have just started reading another Robert kiyosaki book "Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich".

The main focus in this book is the use of leverage- if you are working harder and harder- then you are part of someone else's leverage and not using it to your advantage.

So, what's leverage?
It is using your assets in a way that gives you maximum advantage- much as using a pole to roll something heavy or using a pulley to lift something. Money can be used in this way, too. If you use money badly, you become the one being moved by the lever.

Money is not your only asset to use for leverage- your mind, time and health can, too. I like to to environmentally aware and grow some of my own food- and I see many parallels between good financial strategy and growing crops and gardening. You can spend hours digging and bending over preparing the ground- or, you can build a raised bed so that your crops will produce earlier, the slugs will find it more difficult to find your plants and you wont have to bend over much to tend your crops.

I feel that the principle of leverage can be used in many ways- you can lever your time, say, by listening to audio books whilst on a long journey. You can use spare moments to scribble down ideas for businesses or marketing. You can lever your health by making all or part of your journey to work by walking or cycling (with added cost and environmental benefits).

How about levering your kindness? How can you produce more kindness with the same effort? Can you introduce people who need company? Can you send positive messages by email?

As Robert says, when you start to look around you'll see more and more ways you could use leverage, obviously, this blog is about generating income, however, there are other forms of wealth that could benefit- family, friends, your time, health and happiness- how can this be levered? Could you find time to listen to your favourate music or comedian?

So, instead of trying to push that rock- find yourself a lever!

You're wasting your time- just do overtime at work!

Are you making a small amount of income online? Or perhaps you've got a small income doing something off line. It's funny how often you hear the comment-

"Why don't you do more hours at work you'd make more money!"

Certainly, if you're like me, you experiment here and there and you make a small bit of money hear and there for quite a lot of time spent. Some people think this is silly, they are the people who do their day job thinking they are financially secure. To use Buckminster Fuller's definition of wealth (also mentioned in Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Korasaki) wealth is how many days you could survive if your day job was to end. In other words- don't rely on one job for your income or security, not only are many jobs on short-term contracts, but companies come and go.

Spending time experimenting with what works and doesn't work and finding out what you like doing to build an online income is time well spent. How many wealthy men and women made their wealth immediately? None (unless it was inherited)- they tried different things and failed many times. Except, successful people don't see it as failing- it's learning.

My hourly income from my online activities is very low, but the satisfaction I get from learning and from things working is very high. I also know, that when it does work- I made it work!

So, if you're not making a lot of money yet- you are in the university of life, learning how to make it work and you follow in the footsteps of the those now on six figure incomes- keep at it!

From clutter to cash!

Over the last week to ten days I have been clearing the build up of clutter in my study by selling on Ebay and on Amazon.

I expect you're all very familiar with Ebay, you've probably bought things from the site, possibly sold, too. Do you know the best ways to generate interest to you auctions? The link at the top of this blog lifts the lid on a few Ebay secrets, for example, did you know you can get cashback when you buy something on Ebay? Check out my Ebay insider and magic money mini sites (Squidoo lenses) for more details.

I have also sold two books within a week of listing them on Amazon, the trick here is to keep your prices competitive, this included selling one book for a penny! If you're unfamiliar with the penny listing trick- here's how it works: Amazon pays a set postal rate (currently £2.75) so, if the book is light and the real cost of postage is low, you make a profit on the postage! Obviously, if you get the book very cheaply, this works out OK.

Whilst my income from these sales is small, it's a nice way to turn clutter into cash and gain some experience at the same time.

I mentioned Robert Kiyosaki's brilliant book Rich Dad, Poor Dad
I cannot recommend this enough if you want a clear, concise and engaging explanation of why and how you can get control of your finances instead of having your finances dictate to you how to live your life.